September 2013 A WORD FROM THE PASTOR . . . I began my Saturday morning as I do most Saturday’s by sitting at the kitchen table, drinking my coffee and looking out the window at a snapshot of God’s beautiful creation. I also was enjoying my leisurely reading of the newspaper – something usually relegated to the afternoon hours when I arrive home from work. When I got to the comics, one of my favorites – Rhymes with Orange - got an audible chuckle out of me. The picture showed a family at the dinner table with mom on one end and dad on the other and their son in the middle obviously holding a smart phone. The caption had the mother say: “Martin, will you please text grace.” As most of you know, I am not a “texter.” As a matter of fact my computer’s spell check just informed me that “texter” isn’t even a word! I guess I’ll have to add that one to my computer’s vocabulary! I know that many of you reading this are already smiling and probably commenting in your mind about how technologically-challenged your pastor is or how so “last century” or “old-fashioned” your pastor is. I guess that is a burden that I will just have to bear (LOL)! See, I do know some abbreviations! I’ll even admit that I was late to the table even for email, but I finally joined the hordes of people using modern technology and secretly admit that I enjoy this form of communication of information. But I digress. Earlier this week Chance Rich sent out a prayer request about a burden on his heart for the horrible atrocities happening to the citizens of Syria and I joined him in his burdened heart. Over the past year I have been appalled at how inhumanely this civil war has been progressing. Suffice it to say that I abhor all civil wars and the pain and destruction that they bring – the Serbian -Bosnian conflict of the 90’s, the Rwandan massacre of the 80’s and now all the Middle Eastern conflict initiated by the Arab Spring. How have we as a civilization devolved into such a cruel and uncaring people? How can we watch as humans take other human lives and pour out pure evil upon each other and not be bothered? If I was an eschatological theologian trying to make sense of what is going on in this world I would be tempted to take up a sign crying out that the end is near! Don’t worry, your pastor hasn’t gone off the deep end just yet. I haven’t grown a long beard and started ranting with wild hair and a crazy look in my eyes – yet – but I do ask myself one question repeatedly. How long will God allow us to treat one another with such guiltless regard for each other? When these random thoughts enter my mind I am called to remember Peter’s words to the Christians scattered throughout the world living in desperate and hostile times too. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friend. With the Lord a day is like a (Continued on page 2) P.O. Box 178 Greer, SC 29652 864-879-3097 www.NewDayCCC.org [email protected] New Day CCC Meets At: 101 South Line Street Greer, SC 29651 Sundays at 10:30 a.m. inside... Psalm 111 Hallelujah! I give thanks to God with everything I’ve got Wherever good people gather, and in the congregation. God’s works are so great, worth A lifetime of study - endless enjoyment! Splendor and beauty mark His craft; His generosity never gives out. His miracles are His memorial This God of Grace, this God of Love. He remembered to keep His ancient promise. He proved to His people that He could do what He said: Hand them the nations on a platter - a gift! He manufactures truth and justice; All His products are guaranteed to last Never out-of-date, never obsolete, rust-proof. All that He makes and does is honest and true: He paid the ransom for His people, He ordered His Covenant kept forever. He’s so personal and holy, worthy of our respect. The good life begins in the fear of God Do that and you’ll know the blessing of God. His Hallelujah lasts forever! The Message A Confession In Or Out? Passion The Sweet Smell Of Grace page 3 page 3 page 4 page 4 September 2013 THE DAWNING A Word From The Pastor (Continued from page 1) thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” But I still wonder as perhaps many of you do how long God will wait for us to love Him with all of our heart, mind and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves. With all the 21st century technology at our disposal – texting included – have our lives and our mission improved? Oh sure, we can send our quickly developed thoughts in a few, sometimes indecipherable, characters or let the world know our innermost thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, but how have our lives been changed? I believe that the first step in learning to love God and each other comes from developing a healthy and respectful relationship. As with most humanly developed things there are what we call side effects. The medicines that we take to cure us or keep us healthy have a list of side effects that if we read the pharmacy pamphlets might make us think twice before ingesting them. The harmless little email that we sent was read by the recipient in a totally different context than was intended. The foods we eat for nourishment cause untold health issues. The list goes on and on with things that seem quite good at first glance, but in the end have unintended consequences. Communication technology has elevated our ability to live in a Jetsons-style world, but we are now starting to see some of the consequences. Relationships are starting to disintegrate or perhaps never even form at all. We begin to know each other more from what we read in texts and emails and what we see on Facebook and websites rather than in having an open and honest conversation. At the pool party I had the opportunity to sit and talk with a new congregant, once my work was done, and learned a lot about what he hoped to do and where his aspirations lie – something I would never have known through a text or email. How can we ever learn to love one another if we fail to get to know each other? How will we ever understand where our brother or sister is coming from if we don’t understand where they have been and what they have endured? These things don’t come to the surface in faceless, 142 character messages on our smart phones and computers. In my mind one of the side effects of our modern communication technology is that we begin to see each other only from the lens of our equipment instead of from our hearts. Imagine that God only saw us through a large screen television set; meaning He only saw our lives in action as opposed to knowing the depths of our hearts. Wow! Wouldn’t that be a bummer? Luckily we serve the one true God who knows each of us by name; the one true God who knew us before we were formed in our mother’s womb; the one true God who has called each of us to His plan and His purpose. And He did all this by providing a way to have an otherwise unobtainable relationship with Him. And now He directs each of us to enter into loving relationships with each other as His children. I’m not advocating the elimination of our modern day communication, but I am asking that we all think about whether or not it might be easier to communicate and get to know one another in person. If the Palestinians and Israelis got to know one another as God’s children perhaps peace would be possible. If Americans would get to know and develop relationships with each other perhaps racism, sexism, ageism and homophobia would become things of the past and we could celebrate how lucky we all are to be made in our Creator’s image instead of allowing our differences to drive a wedge between us. Hopefully I’ve offered some sound bites that resonate with you or will when you stop RTFL over your pastor’s old-fashioned dreams and hopes. Remember that Jesus told us that all of God’s commandments hang on two: love God and love each other – no exceptions. Perhaps if we are going to thrive in this world today we simply need to think with our hearts and our lives instead of our fingers and keyboards. Just something to think about in our walk of discipleship. Blessings and Peace, Youth for Christ New Day CCC Annual Retreat Weekly at New Day CCC Volunteer Planning Session Topic for Spiritual Growth “Not A Fan” Sunday School - 9:30 am Sunday Worship - 10:30 am Sunday, Sept 8th, After Worship Lunch will be Provided Lutheridge Sept 20th - 22nd Small Group Study Wednesday - 7:00 pm page 2 THE DAWNING September 2013 A Confession I have a confession to make, probably better kept to myself, but maybe someone else feels the same. My confession is..I AM VERY MAD AT GOD. Sometimes the anger and frustration quiets for a moment in time, but it comes back with a vengeance. My two levels or speeds are complacent or angry…black or white. I think we all were taught not to ask the WHY question; it is what it is, basically in so many words. We were not to ask questions; why, when, where, who…just obey the rules…nothing else matters. Even as a teen, I asked those questions to myself and even asked out loud once, but was told “it just is.” That was about as helpful as a bee sting. “Just because”, was not a good answer to me; I need to be able to analyze everything. I could not analyze when I did not know what I believed, nonetheless my anger. I am angry God allows world turmoil but especially personal turmoil. Why can I not find or feel personal peace? When will enough be enough? Where is the end of this process? Who cares, really genuine cares? Why is my body, heart, mind and soul agonizing for harmony? Is it too much to ask that I feel peace from the darkness and weight lifted from my shoulders? If peace was in sight, would the struggle be easier? When is enough counted as enough? When can I stop fighting these demons in my head and heart and soul? When will the personal, emotional and spiritual war end? If I saw an ending point, maybe the conflict would be bearable. Where does this process end? At what point will I be able to start and end every day knowing that I have reached excellence and the pain will no longer haunt me? Could this process possibly have a time line with a start and ending point? Who is real and who is an imposter? Who is steadfast and sure? Who will put their arms around me just to find a soft spot in my back for a knife? If I knew honest intentions; could I then trust? So my anger at God comes from a lot of different questions, a lot of agony and fear to trust or be abandoned and be wounded or beat down again. Relationships with partner and children are not black and white? Physical and emotional pains do not automatically subside with professional assistance or medicine? This spiritual journey does not have a mountain top point where there are no more lessons or growing pains? Giving back or service does not have a full line? Again I ask the question, when is enough, enough? I am angry at God because I seem to fight for this peaceful life and field of flowers He promised. Nothing I do seems to be enough and just when I think I kinda might have it all analyzed, my world falls apart around me and I must build my walls taller and stronger. Unfortunately, we were told wrong information. When we believe in Christ, love and peace do not form as a bubble around us till we die. Yes, God is a God of love, but also mercy grace and free will. I John 4:9-10. God is not sitting on huge jeweled throne with a whip and a loud evil voice, waiting for us to mess up so He can have a good laugh. I think God is gentle and feels our pain and sorrow and maybe even cries with us or when we are so broke, our tears will not come out; they just build inside us like a burning volcano. John 16:33 tells us that He knows we will have trials and sorrows, but we can have peace trusting that He is bigger than all this. Romans 8:28 of course, tells us “all things work together for good”. This is all easy to read and say from a high horse, but coming down off that soap box and living day by day in a world of hate, anger and discrimination is hard to bear alone. That is why God gives life lines. They are there, we just have to ask either God or His teachers and preachers He puts on our path for a reason. All this does not mean I’m not mad at God anymore. It just may help or encourage a little if I let it. However, God is a big, strong, tender God and can take the anger I feel. I think He may want me to pour out my anger sincerely to Him and truly give it to Him leaving it with Him so He can bear it and so I can know and feel His presence. I envy your prayers as I strive to let God have my anger. Hope Carey In Or Out? What would you do today if you knew you wouldn't fail? Would you start a business, apply for a job or a promotion or start college classes? Whatever it is that you would do, what is keeping you or me from doing it? I think the answer to that question is fear. I can tell you personally that fear has kept me from doing a lot of things and I have often wondered how many opportunities I have missed out on because of fear. I am reminded of Peter and the time that he walked on water. He gets a lot of bad rap because he took his eyes of off Jesus and began to sink. That is one way to look at it but I think people fail to realize that of all the people in the boat Peter was the only one who put his fears aside and stepped out of the boat! We do not need to let our fears keep us in the boat because if we want to walk on water we have to get out of the boat! His, Chance page 3 September 2013 THE DAWNING Passion We all have desires of our hearts and different kinds of passions. I am not talking about a sexual passion but a passion that I would like to believe we all have - something that you feel very strongly about doing in your life or in someone else’s life. Chance, at church, has a passion to help young adults grow and understand who they are and show them that they are loved not just by family but by others around them. The outreach that God has put on his heart is not just going to help the teenagers but their families and friends. So many people are taught if you are not like them, then you are hated and of course going to hell. PFLAG was started years ago and still people judge them. I know people in PFLAG and they would get awful calls and mail stating that they were going to hell because they are lovers of the gay and lesbian life style. The fact is they don’t hate or judge others. These are people who love and help others understand the life style and it’s ok. This was a passion of parents who started in a small group and now it has grown to be nationwide. In the PFLAG in Newhall, Ca. and I know some of the parents and friends and yes they are Christians. Was that a passion that God put on their hearts? I believe so. One of the ladies I work with has a passion for domestic violence. She does volunteer work at Safe Harbor. She was telling me the other day that she was in a domestic violent marriage for 5 yrs. Now she helps families get a new start in life. Was that a passion that God put on someone’s heart? I believe so. The Sweet Smell of Grace “I see this guy three rows back sheepishly looking at me in the center aisle, and I said to myself, as God is my witness, “Oh, man, what a way to end an Easter Sunday. Someone is going to hit me up for money,” which happens a lot here. As he gets close to me, he smelled worse than any human being I had ever smelled in my life. The odor was so horrible -- of the street, of filth, of sweat, of urine, that when I talked to him I had to look away to inhale. I would look back at him breathing out. He put his finger in my face, and he said, “Reverend, I don’t want your money. I want this Jesus that you were talking about. I’m going to die out there. I don’t have a hope in this world unless somebody changes me.” At that moment I became so convicted of my lack of love, of my lack of compassion. At that moment, I forgot about David, and I said, “God, forgive me.” God baptized me afresh with such love and compassion that I began to just weep for my own need and for what I saw God doing in David, and David sensed it. I dropped my hands to my side; he came against me, and he fell -- his face, matted hair, filthy -- fell against my chest and tie, and I put my arms around him. Suddenly, that smell became the most beautiful perfume I had ever smelled in my life. It was as if God was saying, “If you have any value, it’s this smell that I sent you for,” because that’s the smell of the world that Jesus died for. Jesus didn’t die for a nice, clean, neat little world. He came for that which was lost and ruined. That night David gave his heart to the Lord, and now his testimony is being used to bless countless people. He’s one of our most trusted workers now here in maintenance and security. David Ruffin is a man of God.” Pastor Jim Cymbala, Brooklyn Tabernacle Submitted by Teresa Hrab page 4 I have a passion to help the homeless. I was never homeless but I do understand being very very close to it at one time in my life. Amber and I volunteered at a homeless shelter in Newhall. It was such an eye opener. People look at homelessness as a bum: someone who doesn’t want to work and lives off of others. I am sure there are some that have chosen to live like that but a lot of the time it’s people like you and me. A loss of a job will put you on the streets. Just one paycheck away. Some people don’t have friends or family to help. Some people have a mental illness that puts them on the street. Who is to help them find the resources to help themselves? Our government system isn’t always able to help. So, with that said I believe it’s up to us. Kim just told me she has a passion for Clemson. Really. I asked her how that was God centered? She said because she believes God will always let them win. Wrong kind of passion. If we just live our lives for ourselves, how are we showing the love of God to others? It doesn’t need to be anything big in life. Tim does the newsletter every month. I know for a fact that because of his passion to do it, lives are being changed. I send newsletters to friends all over the states and will get calls or a card stating how someone’s article touched or changed something in their life. I am so thankful that this is a passion God put on his heart. We are all important in what we do. If you don’t feel you have a passion or desire then help someone who does and God will put it on your heart. Debby Mann September 2013 The Bible: We believe that the Holy Bible is the Word of God and that in it He reveals Himself and speaks to us. We believe that the scriptures are true, complete and reliable and sufficient to show us everything that we need to glorify God and live in His presence forever. God: We believe that there is one God and only one God who exists in three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are one God, all being equal in power and glory. Humanity: Men and women, though created in God’s image and pronounced good as the pinnacle of creation and created for a relationship with God, turned from God and rebelled against God. Since then, from our birth we are inherently sinful; that is, we fall short of God’s perfect standard, stray from His ways and make ourselves the complete opposite of what we were designed to be. This overwhelming condition of disobedience to God (sin) is not caused by being born into a bad environment, but we create bad environments because we are born into sin. Jesus Christ: God, the Son, came into our world in the person of Jesus. He lived and walked among us for some thirty years, obeyed the heavenly Father perfectly, was without sin and bore God’s wrath when He died on the cross for our sins. He rose from the grave on the third day as He had promised. Jesus has complete authority over all of God’s creation and will return one day to gather His people and judge His enemies. Salvation: We are saved from the penalty of sin, death, by the grace of God through our faith in Jesus Christ which was completed through His death and resurrection. We can never get rid of our sin on our own or do anything to earn God’s favor because we are sinful people. God punished out guilt through Christ and declared us not guilty by covering us through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. In the words of Martin Luther, “Jesus accomplished the ‘great exchange’ by taking our sin upon Himself and covering us in His own righteousness!” We are saved by looking to Jesus Christ to save us. Spiritual Growth and Discipleship: After coming to Christ as our Savior, God works in our lives to make us more and more like Christ. The Holy Spirit comes to us and opens our minds to understand scripture and how they apply to our lives. The Holy Spirit moves us to respond to God’s commands in obedience out of our love for Christ and His sacrifice on our behalf. This is a life-long process which is never completed in our earthly lives, but through our growth and discipleship, we are constantly being perfected. The Future: At a time known only to God, Jesus will return to gather His people. The Christians who have died will physically rise and those who are still living will join them and be radically transformed. Any sin that remains in our lives at that time will be completely washed away and we will be perfectly glorious and will delight in the presence and worship of God forever. P.O. Box 178 Greer, SC 29652 864-879-3097 www.NewDayCCC.org [email protected] New Day CCC Meets At: 101 South Line Street Greer, SC 29651 Sundays at 10:30 a.m. inside... A Confession In Or Out? Passion The Sweet Smell Of Grace page 3 page 3 page 4 page 4